Recent Articles from Kira Jenkins
Rising to the challenges
Last summer, as I was eating dinner at a Norfolk bar with a group of my Lead Virginia classmates from far Southwest Virginia, one of them asked what decision makers in Richmond thought about their region. “Most of them don’t think about it at all,” I replied bluntly and not a little sadly. During my […]
The bigger picture
Welcome to the 10th edition of The Big Book. Virginia Business Publisher Bernie Niemeier had the inspiration for this annual issue more than a decade ago when he was retrieving his mail and noted the heft of Vanity Fair’s jam-packed annual Hollywood issue. “Why can’t we have a big book like this?” he thought to […]
Real world learning
In 2021, colleges and universities got back to semi-normal, holding more classes in person and hosting sporting events and commencement ceremonies. Many institutions required students, faculty and other employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 last fall, and some schools also mandated booster shots. In Hampton Roads, three institutions — Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University [&hel[...]
Hubs and spokes
Economic conditions bounced back across many sectors in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic still impacted development deals occurring in Virginia. The state saw a great deal of focus on manufacturing and supply chain growth, areas expected to stay busy despite the recent change in state political leadership. In Hampton Roads, many of the region’s major […]